For many PhD scholarships (CSC, KAUST, Korea, Japan, most of Europe) and research internships, a positive reply from a potential supervisor is the single biggest advantage you can have. Professors receive dozens of emails a week, so a short, specific, well-researched email is what gets a reply.
Before you write
- Read two or three of the professor’s recent papers (last three years), not only their homepage.
- Check that they are taking students — look for “open positions”, a lab page, or a recent funded project.
- Check the programme and scholarship you will apply for, and its deadline.
- Prepare a one-page CV and, for PhDs, a one-page research idea.
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